


the sunset

by isabewwe (rubyguard)



Series: gay werewolf shit [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Chronic Illness, Domestic, F/F, Fantasy, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Lesbians, References to Illness, Slow Burn, Werewolves, Whump, lapslock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-03-19
Packaged: 2019-11-24 03:47:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18161075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubyguard/pseuds/isabewwe
Summary: maude is getting weaker, cecily is getting stronger. they balance each other out.sequel to "the cellar"!





	the sunset

**Author's Note:**

> this story is dedicated to my friend lex, who drew some art of my characters, and for that i will forever be grateful. also everyone say thank you to lex for beta reading this. wow, look at me having a beta reader and everything! i'm almost a real writer.  
> if you haven't read the first part yet (this is part 2) you can do that if you want. anyhow i hope you enjoy this! if i get positive feedback i will continue the series.

maude didn’t often leave the cottage.

she was young, and by any logic she should have been fit, too - she had grown up a farmhand, out in the fields since before she could talk. but that was years ago.

oh how she’d taken it all for granted.

 

at least she had cecily to look after her.

 

a hot july day became a freezing night. maude was warming herself by the stove as the stew cooked, when the clunk of the front door and the scuffle of work boots announced cecily’s arrival, home from the fields.

 

“maude, my dear! the strangest thing happened to me out on the hillside today.”

 

maude sat up in interest.

cecily entered the kitchen and greeted maude with a kiss on the forehead. “the stew smells wonderful.”

“so what happened?”

“right.” cecily smiled and sat down beside her. “... i think i’m getting stronger.”

maude blinked.

“by that you mean…?”

“by that i mean - today, when i was tending to the lambs, rameses went and fell in the river. and - it was like instinct kicking in. i just waded in and picked him right up. i think he was almost as surprised as i was.”

maude chuckled. “what - really? that’s amazing.”

“it was so odd. i’m not some kind of strongwoman from the circuses but - all of a sudden i - i was lifting a whole ram like he was nothing!”

“maybe you’re just getting stronger from all that hard work.” maude stood up to stir the stewpot. “i’ll draw you a hot bath after dinner, you should relax your poor muscles. stew’s ready, you must be hungry.”

cecily yawned and put an arm around maude’s waist.

“thank you, my love.”

  
  


maude had fallen ill two years before. it all started back when she and cecily still lived in argent village. it all started with a fever.

all maude could remember of it was the vivid, surreal nightmares, pervaded by the thick scent of incense, as friends and neighbours came by to pray for her health - and she remembered cecily’s cold hand clasped in her own. by her side through it all.

 

and maude never fully recovered.

the fever faded, but the dizziness, the aching limbs, the overwhelming _tiredness_ never did. the village doctor had regarded her with pity and told her some things couldn’t be healed.

 

and maude had lost everything.

 

“what are you thinking about, dear?”

cecily entered wearing her nightdress, wringing out her wet hair. “thank you for the bath, by the way.”

“it’s the least you deserve.” maude had been reading in bed, but her mind was wandering. as cecily climbed under the covers beside her, maude noticed something. “cecily, you really _are_ getting strong.”

in her nightdress, cecily’s arms were exposed, and definitely bigger than they were a few weeks ago. cecily blushed and curled in on herself.

“i think it’s because of my condition.”

“oh.”

“i - i heard that, er -” cecily hesitated. “werewolves, they - uh, over time their normal, human form starts to change. one of the first changes, i think, is their strength?”

maude thought this over. “makes sense. have you noticed any other changes?”

“not really, not yet, but -” cecily scratched at her arm. “i think it’s like - the more you transform, the less you - transform back.”

a pause.

“i don’t know. there’s still so much about werewolves we don’t know.”

maude gently took cecily’s hand to stop her scratching.

“it’s all right. whatever happens, i’ll be here with you.”

cecily burrowed into maude’s chest, and they fell asleep.

  


maude’s illness was somewhat unpredictable. sometimes, when she had a little more energy, she could walk down the hillside to the fields and watch the sheep with cecily. those were the best days, when she could watch cecily work, sunlight on her skin, soft grass beneath her.

but the good days were few and far between.

most days maude would stay at home and occupy herself with cleaning, baking, knitting. it was important work, and it felt good to keep herself busy, but she had to go slowly, or she’d exhaust herself.

some days, she couldn’t leave her bed.

she couldn’t help but feel like she was just getting weaker.

  


“maude,” cecily whispered. “are you awake?”

maude stirred, rubbed her eyes. “i am now... what time is it?”

cecily was knelt beside the bed in her work clothes. “four in the afternoon. how are you feeling?”

maude felt disorientated. and a little guilty.

“i’m sorry, i didn’t mean to fall asleep for so…”

cecily smiled and kissed her forehead. “it’s quite alright. i was just wondering if you’d like to go out for a picnic. there’s a place i want to show you.”

maude blinked the sleep from her eyes. “is it far?”

“if you don’t feel like it, that’s alright,” cecily said, “but you wouldn’t have to walk. i was thinking maybe i could carry you.”

 

and so they made their way up the hillside path, maude clinging tightly to cecily’s broad shoulders.

“are you sure i’m not too heavy?” maude giggled. it felt so funny to be carried like a child, suspended above the ground.

“you’re as light as a feather, my dear,” cecily skipped along the path as if to prove it - sure enough, she was hardly breaking a sweat. maude laughed and clung on tighter.

“please don’t drop me.”

“just you relax, maudie. i’ll tell you when we get there.”

so maude rested her head on cecily’s shoulder and closed her eyes.

 

from here she could hear birdsong, the rush of a stream, insects in the air - she could feel sun on her skin as it filtered through the trees, the gentle breeze, cecily’s soft hair.

hermuscles were still aching and she was still so tired. but she was outside in the fresh air, and she could hear cecily’s heartbeat, and for now, she felt at peace.

 

“wake up, darling. we’re here!”

maude opened her eyes as cecily set her down on the picnic blanket.

cecily had carried her across the hillside to a little clearing in the trees, up on the hill overlooking a lake.

the grass was pale from the sun and dotted with patches of bright wildflowers. the valley sloped down to the lake, which sparkled in the light.

the sun was beginning to set over the hills, lighting the world in a blaze of gold.

the breeze ruffled maude’s hair and she sighed, “it’s beautiful.”

cecily was unpacking the picnic basket as maude admired the view. “i discovered this little place as i was exploring. i realised that i still don’t know this hillside all that well,” cecily said, “i thought you might like it here.”

“i love it.”

cecily looked up at her and smiled.

“come on, let’s eat our picnic.”

 

there were bread rolls maude had baked, wild berries cecily had picked, and milk from the dairy sheep. they watched the sun set as they ate, and as it got colder maude huddled close to cecily, and laid her head in cecily’s lap.

“thank you for bringing me here.”

“any time.” cecily gently brushed maude’s hair away from her face and smiled.

 

so much had changed over the past few years. the trauma of cecily’s transformation, maude’s illness, leaving their hometown to live alone - sometimes maude felt like it was all too much, like the universe was conspiring against them.

but maude looked out over the lake, cecily’s soothing hand in her hair, she knew. whatever happened, whatever changes they went through.

as long as they had each other, everything would be all right.

 

**Author's Note:**

> fun story, i knew maude was chronically ill and depressed before i was even diagnosed. so perhaps this series is prophetic? man i wish i had a hot werewolf shepherdess gf.
> 
> i decided to publish this as a separate story from part 1 because it's been like a year since i wrote it, but i might just combine the two into one story with two chapters, let me know what you think.
> 
> i have plans to write more in the near future and develop this world more, so leave a comment and tell me what you wanna see next. i think the next story in the series will be backstory.   
> also i haven't decided on a series name? if you have any suggestions let me know. for now it's "hurry home to me", in reference to a connie converse song. should i keep it that way?
> 
>  
> 
> anyhow, comments and kudos are very much appreciated, i love you!


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